Nigerians spend N10bn annually on armoured vehicles

CLOSE to N10bn is being spent yearly in Nigeria on the procurement and maintenance of armoured vehicles, an expert has said.

Mr. Adetokunbo Ogundeyin, Group Managing Director, Proforce Defence Limited, Ode Remo, Ogun State, makers of armoured vehicles in Nigeria, told The Nation that many high networth individuals, including military formations, among others, currently own state-of-the art bullet-proof cars.

“When you talk about armoured vehicles in Nigeria, we’re not only taking about the individual, we’re talking about the military, about the police, and paramilitary,” he said.

“You are talking about a business that is worth close to, I would say, about $50m to $60m (N9, 720, 000, 000) in Nigeria alone. Don’t forget that all these vehicles need to be maintained. We’re not just talking about importing of armoured vehicles, we’re talking of after-sales.

“Even when you look at the number of individuals that import armoured vehicles into Nigeria in a year, it would go up to 1, 000.”

This, he said, does not take into account those being imported by quasi-government parastatals.

The purchase of two bullet-proof BMW cars for N255 million by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) last year sparked an uproar across the country leading to the removal of the then Aviation Minister, Princess Stella Oduah .

Many top politicians, businessmen, and clerics now ride bullet-proof cars.

Ogundeyin decried the unbridled importation of vehicles, saying it was detrimental to the economy.

He said: “By importing all these cars into Nigeria a lot of foreign exchange is being wasted, job opportunities that should have been created for Nigerians are not being created because job opportunities are now being exported.”

Ogundeyin, who set up Proforce Defence Limited in 2008 to produce armoured vehicles, sided with the Federal Government on the recent automotive policy which kicked off in January and imposed huge importation duties of up to 70 percent on some automobiles.

“I agree with the auto policy entirely,” he said. “A situation whereby we are not developing the country and we’re developing another man’s country does not make sense for us in the long run.”

He likened unrestrained importation to destroying the future of younger Nigerians. “If you think long-term, you’ll know that you’re damaging the future of your children,” he said.

“Research is the only way our country can grow. Why do you import finished products when you can easily create employment here? That is why you have Boko Haram all over the place.

“Look at the amount of foreign exchange we spend importing vehicles into Nigeria. It is mindboggling.”

Before the latest policy review on importation of cars, according to Aminu Jalal, the Director-General, National Automotive Council, by 2012, Nigerians imported 200,000 used-vehicles and 80,000 new-vehicles at an annual cost of N400bn.